Surfacing machine



Oct. 14, 1941. J. Y. BLAZEK ET AL 2,258,879

SURFACING MACHINE Filed NOV. 4, 1939 3 Sheets-Shet l INVENTORS. g -5- E RNO OY g 3 GILBERTEJEARs 9 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 14, 1941 John Y. Blazek, Bedford, and VernonR. Roy and Gilbert E. Sears, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to Lempco Products, Inc Bedford, Ohio, a cornotation of Ohio Application November 4, Serial No. 302,906 i '20 Claims. n er-1 1') This invention relates, generally, as indicated, to surfacing machines but relates more specifically to a machine for finishing or refinishing plane surfaces. 1

Heretofore considerable difficulty has been experienced in producing plane surfaces of' large area particularly when such surface is part of a heavy and bulky article. difficulty is acutely appreciated when attempting toproduce a satisfactory finish on warped or marred gasket engaging surfaces of internal combustion motor blocks and heads. It is also appreciatedin producing a satisfactory finish for clutch pressure plates. I r u Orthodox means for satisfactorily finishing plane surfaces are a grinding machine wherein a revolving abrasive wheel is utilized, a planer'and a milling machine. Another means' is moving the surface to be finished over a 'planesurface which supports abrasive material. The former requires accurate positioning of the surface tobe finished with respect to the machine. ','I'he.'13.t'

ter frequently results in ridges and high and low areas. e

This invention has foritsprimary object the provision ofamachine of the-lattentypewherein the abrasive moves intermittently.

Another object is to devise a machine of the character described which moves the abrasive and the surface to be finished in the same direction. 7

Still another object of the invention is to re-' duce packing or filling of the abrasive;

A further object is the provision of means to lock the abrasive while it is not-in motion. 7 Further objects are to provide a device of the character described which is capable of operating rapidly, producing a satisfactory finish, economical to manufactureand jam proof;

To the accomplishment of the foregoing' and' related ends, said invention; then, consists of -the means hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims; :theannexed'drawings and the following description setting forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention,

such disclosed means constituting,"howevenbut' Fig.2 is a front elevation of the m h l shown in Fig. 1;

v .Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the machine; shown in Fig. 1; I

Fig.14;is a fragmentary view taken al ong the line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

5 Fig.5 is a fragmentary view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;-' I

Fig. 6 is a sectional View takenralong the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig; 7 is a view showing the abrasive driving:

In; and locking'mechanismwhich is part of this in- 25.: 'Fig. is a detail front elevation of a gear verition;

Fig. 8 is a front'elevation of Fig. '7; V Fig; 9 is a view taken along the line 99 of Fig.18; and

and; means for driving the same.

Referring to the drawings and more particu-' uarly, to Figs; 2 to 5 thereof, there is provided a frame; structure j comprising legs l 5, having in- Zllg wardlyextending ears l6, cross members I! and Q9; proper positioningthereof with respect to membedjl8. f c

Suitably.-supportedasby welding to legs I5 is' a plate upon which is mounteda motor 2| which by means ofeabelt or chain within the guard 22 'drives gears within the gear box 237 which is suspended from the ears I6 and which transmit power to shaft tates a gear-25.' I

slideways 28 which are secured to the cross-- members 11; by means of pins 29.

As is shown in Figs. 3,4 and 5, a saddle 3l is slidingly mounted-on slideways 28 whichextend' through holes in horizontal bosses 32 of the sad-' dle at which has secured to its bottom a rack 33 in mesh with gear 25. I

Secured; to vertical flanges 35 of saddle 3| on,

opposite sides' ofthe bed 18 are upwardly extending standards 36 into each of which a rack -31 is incorporated. p

Adapted-to slide oneach standard 36 is a member 40 in which is journalled cylindrical slideways 4| and; 42. 'Housedwithin each member 40, in mesh" with 'racks' 31 and keyed to slideway 42,

are pini ns 43. 'The ends 44 of the slideway 42 are square or'hex to'provide'means for simultaneously rotating both pinions to adjust the height of slideways 4| and 42-with respect to the bed 18.

-A -nut 45 on each end of slidway 4| insures bers 40.

A resilient pad 41, such as rubber, is interposed between the *bed'and the plate 48, which may assume any form such as is described in copending application; Serial No. 279,890, one characterisbrackets and at the other end brackets 5| in which are journalled two shafts 53 and 54'which carry large and small rollers 55 and 56 respectively. To adjust the tensionin the'belt B the brackets 5| have a slot 58 through which bolts 59 extend and engage the plate 48.

The mechanism to intermittently drive or shift the abrasive belt is within the guard and, as seen in Figs. 7 and 8, comprises gear 66 and smaller gear 61 keyed respectively, to the shafts 53 and 54, ratchet wheels 68 and 69 keyed respectively to shafts53 and 54, a bell pawl I0 freely rotatable on the shaft 54 engaging the ratchet wheel 68 and pawl II freely rotatable on the shaft 53 engaging ratchet wheel 69. Athird' pawl I2 freely rotates about the stud I3 project-.

ing from the lower end I4 of the pawl I0. A spring which engages pins I6 and 11 project-- ing respectively from pawls 'II and I2 normally maintains them in engagement with their respective ratchet wheels. Extending through a slot in the ear which projects from bed I8 is a member 8| which is pivotally attached to a bolt 82 at the end I4 of the pawl I0. To normally maintain th pawl III in engagement with ratchet wheel 68 there is surrounding the member 8| a coil spring 83, one end of which abuts against the car 80 and the other end of which abuts against the washer 84 which is backed by pin 85 of the member 8| which may be provided. 10:

Means to position and drive the article A to be surfaced in a device embodying this invention is mounted on slideways 4| and 42 and preferably comprises the structure shown in Fig. 1 and fully disclosed in co-pending application Serial No. 281.425.

Slidingly mounted on slidew-ays 4| and 42 is a carriage 90, on either side of which projects a stud (not shown), about one end of which rotates ratchet wheel 9| and about the other end of which rotates a T-shaped member 92, the horizontal arm of which is slotted as at 93 to receive bolts 94 which engage holes in the article A to be surfaced. The vertical arm of the T has a projection upwardly through the opening 89 of the carriage 90 and pivotally carries a pawl (not shown) which engages the ratchet wheel 9 I.

As is shown in Fig. 1, the bolts 94 are off-set with respect to the longitudinal axis of the article A so that if the saddle and consequently the articl are driven along the abrasive belt B the article and the T member 92 will rotate about said stud projecting on either side of the carriage 99 as an axis causing the said pawl which is not shown to rotate said ratchet wheel 9|. When the drive is reversed the article will swing in the opposite direction and return last said pawl to its original position. This swinging of the article is limited by said stud, which is not shown, bumping against the narrow neck 95 of the opening 89.

A pawl 96 normally in engagement with ratchet wheel 9| permits rotation thereof in only one direction.

Pivotally connected to bars 91, which by means .clears the ratchet wheel 9| and arm 99.

of a bolt 98 are anchored to slideways 4| and 42 and lock the same against rotation is an arm 99, the other end of which is pivotally connected at I00 to the ratchet wheel 9| so that as the latter rotates the carriage and consequently the article A is caused to move laterally with respect to the abrasive belt B. Secured to an upwardly extending boss of carriage 90, as by means of a bolt extending through a slot I02, is an arm I03 which One end of the arm I03 has a threaded hole which engages the bolt I04, the lower end of which is snugly encircled by one end of a coil spring, the other end of which engages the upper surface of the article A to urge it against the belt B.

As was hereinbefore said, the gear 25 rotates freely about the shaft 24 and is in mesh with the rack 33 of the saddle 3| to provide a drive for the same. As is seen in Fig. 10, in order to couple the shaft 24 with the gear 25 a bracket I05 is keyed to the former and is slotted to accommodate spring leaves I96 which are secured thereto by means of a bolt I01 which passes through an aperture in said leaves and engages said bracket. Studs I08 project from gear 25 and are engageable by leaves |06. When the shaft 24 rotates counter-clockwise as viewed in Fig. 10, the spring leaves and studs assume the full line relationship shown therein, and when the shaft 24 rotates in the opposite direction this relationship changes to that shown by the dotted lines therein. When the. stud I08 and the spring I06 make contact, one end of the latter flexes as seen at I09 to absorb the contact shock and prevent sudden change in direction of rotation of the gear 25.

To change the direction of rotation of the shaft 24 so that the carriage 3| and consequently the article A may be reciprocated, a clutch is pro vided within gear box 23 which when in one position drives th shaft 24 in one direction and when in a second position drives the shaft 24 in the opposite direction.

The clutch may take any well known form as its exact features constitute no part of this invention. The clutch is operated or shifted from one position to the other or into neutral by means of the shaft III] which is connected to a hand lever III. I

Pivotally attached to the top of the gear box 23 and retained thereon by a stud and nut H2 is a lever II3, one end of which extends through a slot H4 in the lever II I. The other end of the lever I3 has a downwardly extending finger H5. The gear 25 is provided with arcuate slots I20 through which extend bolts I2I, one end I22 of which projects far enough from the gear 25 to engage th finger 5 as the gear 25 tends to be rotated thereby, shifting the lever III and reversing the direction of rotation of the gear 25. It is thus seen that the length of th stroke of the saddle 3| is determined by the size of the angle subtended by the are between the bolts I2I and that the location of the stroke is determined by the location of the bolts I 2| The dotted lines in Fig. 3 indicate th position to which the saddle 3| moves at the end of each stroke.

Fig. 9 shows an optional or supplemental coil spring |25 encircling the stud I3 and adapted to maintain the pawl I2 in engagement with the ratchet wheel 69.

Assuming the parts as shown in Figs, 1 and 2, in operation the following functions are carried 7 out:

The switch I26 starts the motor 2| which -ro; tates the gear 25 in mesh with the rack 33,1which moves the saddle 3|, standards 36, slideways 4i and 42, carriage 90 and consequently "the article A in a longitudinal direction causing the article A to swing laterally. Before the end-of the stroke to the left of Figs. 1 and 2 the 'flange 35 engages the rubber tip 86 of the memberBI and pushes it to the left through the slot in the ear 8!! to rotate the pawl 10 about the shaft 54 causing the pawl 10 to disengage the ratchet wheel 68- shortly before the pawl 72 contacts its respective,

tooth' of the ratchet wheel 69 todrive the same and causing the shaft 54, gear 61 and the roller 56 to rotate and the belt B to shift. The gear 6'! drives the gear 66, the shaft 53, roller 55 and the ratchet wheel 68. The swinging of the article A is limited by the neck 95 and the longitudinal movement is limited by the contact of one bolt I2! with the finger H to disengage the clutch and then by inertia to throw it into reverse position. Upon reversing the direction of the shaft 24, the spring leaves H35 flex asthey contact a different studlii8 andcushion the reversal of direction -offthe-gear 25 causing the article A to move'back to its original position and simultaneously swinging the article A- to-give it lateral motion. The lateral motion changes direction every 180 of rotation of the ratchet belt B contacts the roller 56 while the back of the. belt B contacts the roller 55." This combined with the'tension adjustment of the brackets '5I,

the-difference in the number of teeth in the gears. 66 and 61 and the fact that both rollers 55'and 56 are driven, provides apositive drive for the belt'B. The three pawls 16, H and 12, plus the gears 66 and 61, lock the belt against the driving forcecreated by movement of the article A. The disengagement of the pawl 70 before the engagement of the pawlfl prevents jamming and renders the device fool-proof.

Ripping, destruction or wearing out of the belt is retarded by moving it only simultaneously with and in the same direction as article A. By moving the belt different portions thereof are presented to the article A resulting in less packing of the abrasive of the belt B and a better finish on the surface of the article A which is in contact therewith. This packing is further lessened because as the belt travels over the rollers the metallic particles removed from article A and particles of abrasive which might become loosened from the belt B drop off. To insure against such packing of foreign matter, a stifi wire brush or scraper I30 in contact with the abrasive belt B may be provided and is preferably mounted on the rack 33 below the bed 8 for freeing such matter.

The cushioning effect of spring leaves prevents jars which are injurious to the finish of the surface and to the machine.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

' We therefore-particularly point out and distinctly claim as ourfinvention:

1-. In'asurfacing-machine, an endless abrasive bearing belt 'and means for intermittently lock-' ing said belt, said means comprising a pair of ratchet wheels the teeth of one being oppositely disposed relative to the teeth of the other, and a pair of pawls one in engagement with each of saidratchet wheels.

2. Ina surfacing machine, an endless abrasive bearing belt and means to alternately lock and move said belt, said means comprising a pair of oppositely disposed; ratchet wheels, a pair of pawls one in engagement with each of said ratchet whe els, athird pawl engaging one of said ratchet wheels and means for actuating said third pawl and releasing one'pawl of said pair of pawls. I i

3;. ln'a surfacing machine, an endless abrasive bearing belt and means for alternately locking and-moving saidbelt, said meansfcomprising a pairbf oppositelydisposed ratchet wheels, 2. pair of pawls one inengagement with each of said wheels-and athird pawl-pivotally carried by one of said pair of pawls and in engagement with one of said pair of ratchet wheels.

A. In a surfacing machine, an endless abrasive bearing-belt, a pair of shafts, a pair of rollers one carried by each of said shafts, each of said rollersbei-ngfin engagement with said belt, driving means connecting "said shafts, a pair of ratchet wheels one carried by-each of said-shafts, and a pair of 'pawls each in engagement with one of said'ratchet wheels. I w

' '5. In a'surfacing machine, an endless abrasive bearingbelt and meansfor intermittently look ing said belt; said means comprising a pair of shafts," driving means connecting-said shafts, a

pair ofoppositel'y disposed ratchet wheels one on each of said shafts and aipai'r of pawls' each in engagementwith one -'of said ratchet wheels.

' 6'. Infa-device of the char'acter described, a sourceof power, a shaft driven by said source, meanls -interposed between said sliaft and said source for reversing the direction of rotation of said 'fshaft, a F member secured; to said shaft, a member in alignment with 'said shaft, a pin carried by one of said members-andja spring carried by the other'of said members, said'spring being adapted to engage said pin, a second pin carried by one of said members adapted to engage said means to operate the same.

7. In a surfacing machine, an abrasive bearing belt, a pair of standards reciprocable relatively to said belt one on each side of said belt, each of said standards having a rack thereon, a pinion in engagement with each of said racks, means connecting said pinions slidable on said standards whereby said pinions may be simultaneously rotated, said means'being adapted for maintaining an article in engagement with said belt, and means for reciprocating said standards.

8. In a device of the character described, an abrasive bearing fibrous strip, means for moving an article to be surfaced along said strip and a brush carried by said means in engagement with said strip. I

9. In a surfacing machine, an endless abrasive bearing strip, a pair of shafts, driving means interconnecting saidshafts, a pair of rollers each on one of said shafts and in engagement with said belt, a ratchet wheel on one of said shafts, an oppositely disposed ratchet wheel on the other of said shafts, a pawl pivotally mounted on one of said shafts and in engagement with one of said ratchet wheels, a pawl pivotally mounted about the other of said shafts and in engagement with the other of said ratchet wheels, ,a third pawl adapted for driving one of said ratchet wheels, and means whereby actuation of said third pawl disengages one of said'first-named pawls.

10. In a surfacing machine, the combination of a plate, an abrasive bearing belt on said plate, and a reciprocating brush in contact with said belt.

11. The combination of a plate, an endless abrasive belt encircling said plate, means for reciprocating an article relative to said strip, a brush carried by said means in contact with said strip on that side of said plate which is opposite from said article.

12. In a device of the character described, an abrasive bearing strip, means for reciprocating an article along said strip, means responsive solely to the end portion of a reciprocating stroke of said article for moving said abrasive strip in the same direction as said article is travelling, and means for positively locking said abrasive strip while said responsive means is inactive.

13. In a device of the character described, the combination of a stationary plate, an abrasive bearing strip on one side of said plate, a slide-- way on the other side of said plate and means engaging said slideway for reciprocating an article on said abrasive strip.

14. In a surfacing machine, an endless abrasive bearing belt and means for intermittently locking said belt, said means comprising a pair of ratchet wheels, the teeth of one being oppositely disposed relative to the teeth of the other and a pair of pawls one in engagement with each of said ratchet wheels, and means for actuating one of said pawls.

15. The combination of a plate, a belt on said plate, means for moving said belt, means for moving an article in contact with saidbelt whereby work is performed, a shaft for driving said last-named means, reversing means interposed between said shaft and said last-named means, and an element actuated by said shaft for controlling said reversing means.

16. The combination of a plate, a belt on said plate, movable means for supporting an article in contact with said belt whereby work is performed, means for driving said means in one direction and then in another direction, and control means responsive to the amount of movement of saidfirst-named means for controlling the direction in which said last-named means drives said first-named means.

17. In a device of the character described, the combination of a plate one side of which is a plane surface, an abrasive bearing strip resting on said surface whereby an area of said strip lies in a plane parallel to said plane surface, a slideway on the other side of said plate, and means slidable on said slideway and projecting above said area for moving an article in contact with said area;

18. In a device of the character described, the combination of a plate, an endless abrasive bearing strip encircling said plate and resting on one side thereof, a slideway on the other side of said plate, and means slidable along said slideway and projecting beyond said first-named side for reciprocating an article in contact with that portion of said abrasive belt which is supported by said first-named side.

19. The combination of a plate, an abrasive belt on said plate, means for moving said belt along said plate, means movable along said plate for moving an article in contact with said belt whereby work is performed, a source of power, a member interconnecting said source and said last-named means for moving the latter, reversing means interposed between said member and said last-named means, and an element actuated by said member for controlling said reversing means.

20. The combination. of a plate, a belt on said plate, means movable along said plate for moving an article in contact with said belt whereby work is performed, a source of power, a member interposed between said source and said means for moving the latter, reversing means interposed between said member and said firstnamed means, and an element actuated by said member for controlling said reversing means.

JOHN Y. BLAZEK. VERNON R. ROY. GILBERT E. SEARS. 

